News: Flybe opening a base in Belfast, Priority Pass opens in Berlin

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

• Tom says:

  18 Mar18 March 04:48

  Oh cool..Movenpick Cafe seems to be on LoungeKey (HSBC Premier). From the photo it look like they do takeaway sandwiches, coffee etc. Great addition! Now to find out if us non-Schengen people can get to it…

  • Pete M says:

    18 Mar18 March 06:32

    Yes, you can get in, but need to factor enough time to go through passport control afterwards (isn’t too bad usually).

    • Y says:

      18 Mar18 March 11:11

      Passport checks for non-Schengen flights are at the opposite end of BER, be prepared for a long walk (25min) from the cafe

      • Bagoly says:

        18 Mar18 March 15:30

        The good news is that there is a dedicated passport checkpoint outside the back of the “Tempelhof” lounge used by Oneworld (and various other) airlines.

• Pete M says:

  18 Mar18 March 06:53

  If you want to see what Berliners more broadly think of BER, this sums it up: https://ibb.co/gZFQWcn

  • Tom says:

    18 Mar18 March 07:56

    It is a terrible, terrible airport. Gone are the halycon days of TXL. The location is terrible and it took me over an hour to get through the priority security line when I was there in December.

    • ChrisC says:

      18 Mar18 March 08:44

      Yet it took me mere minutes in February.

      • Pete M says:

        18 Mar18 March 09:02

        I spent a year battling BA to even let us use the priority security line, so you can thank me for that next time you’re going through 🤣

  • Lady London says:

    18 Mar18 March 11:54

    I am looking forward to seeing how productivity, quality and labour relations go, at the new Tesla factory next door to BER.

    One airline told me BER is a “black hole” for luggage though and they are always handling claims.

    • Londonsteve says:

      18 Mar18 March 13:08

      LL I wouldn’t fear a negative outcome at Grunheide. Tesla have now largely proven their mettle, combined with the world famous German approach to car manufacturing it’ll make a pretty unbeatable marriage imho. Tesla might want to push the envelope and German labour law won’t let them, but that’s Tesla’s problem and fortunately, not the employees’, unlike the poor souls at P&O. The ferry company could never get away with doing that in Germany, they would have their operating licence withdrawn pending an investigation into the overall legality of their operation. Flagrant abuse of the law in one area could indicate a culture of corner-cutting and playing fast and loose with passenger safety, justifying the suspension of their permission to carry fare paying passengers. DP World’s expensive legal advice will have surmised that UK authorities are toothless and it’s cheaper to pay the unfair dismissal claims for those unfortunate victims who aren’t ground down to nothing by the process, than to delay the change to non-unionised agency staff right away. It’s raptor capitalism in action. You are of course correct, BER has been a top to bottom disaster and they are still struggling in certain areas, it’s not however representative of German industry in general. It was borne out of an over-optimistic reunification period with politicians of all stripes heavily involved in the design and execution, it was very much an emanation of those times and its geographical location in Brandenburg province, formerly the DDR.

      • Lady London says:

        18 Mar18 March 22:57

        Actually I don’t have any expectations positive or negative. There are factors that can make it go either way early on but I think the fact that the jobs are needed and Germans excellent on sorting manufacturing processes may bring an end to the reliabity problems of vehicles produced in…is it Fremont?

        However Schoenefeld staff airside seemed to have a fairly East German style when I was flying through therr a few times and I am wondering where the Tesla staff will come from.

        I hope it does well as I’m waiting for a Model 2. I suppose there’s no hope of Europe approving the Cybertruck I lust for with alk those sharp corners still on it.

      • Lady London says:

        18 Mar18 March 22:59

        ‘raptor capitalism’. I really love that. Did you just invent that wording? It’s brilliant.

    • Blair Waldorf Salad says:

      18 Mar18 March 13:21

      I waited 55 mins for luggage to arrive despite being on the second last flight of the day to arrive.

• memesweeper says:

  18 Mar18 March 06:56

  New Flybe using Dash-8s again? Oh no. Noisy and uncomfortable with inadequate on-board luggage space. What a shame.

• John says:

  18 Mar18 March 07:13

  “ The bad news is that this offer is not available to anyone who gets their Priority Pass card from American Express. Amex has an opt-out on Priority Pass restaurant partners.”

  How does the location know which programme your PP card was issued under?

  • Alan says:

    18 Mar18 March 07:25

    I noticed a mention of a Amex in the app when loading the digital card so I guess there’s a flag built in to the QR code…

  • kai says:

    18 Mar18 March 08:32

    They don’t and you are still allowed in. Your Amex will just be charged £20 pp afterwards.

• lumma says:

  18 Mar18 March 08:29

  Not sure if it works to other destinations but using oyster/contactless and changing at Farringdon means I don’t get charged for zone1 when going from Whitechapel to Gatwick as you don’t have to go through any ticket barriers. Saves almost £6 at peak times.

  The true bargain hunter also gets off the train at East Croydon, exits the barriers then re-enters and gets on the next train to save another £5ish at peak times…

  • johnny_c-l says:

    18 Mar18 March 08:48

    No need to get the next train, if you know which carriage to be in and are happy to dash up and down the stairs quickly it’s possible to get back on the same train!

    • Panda Mick says:

      18 Mar18 March 08:59

      Speaking of which*, saw a review of the very limited ‘Liz Line by the very excellent Geoff Marshall: Where you stand at MoorSt / LivGate (whatever you want to call the merging of Liverpool St and Moorgate) needs to be quite tactical to avoid a very long walk

      *Only slightly tenuous, as we are talking of Thameslink 🙂

    • Mark says:

      18 Mar18 March 09:31

      With or without your luggage? 🙂

      • John says:

        18 Mar18 March 09:58

        Player 2 keeps the luggage and holds the train doors open

        • ChrisC says:

          18 Mar18 March 10:43

          And delay everyone else on the train! And given how tight train paths are on the Brightin Main Line those on the next train as well.

          If you want to save a fiver then get off the train and wait for the next one.

        • BlueThroughCrimp says:

          19 Mar19 March 03:28

          Selfish.

        • BlueThroughCrimp says:

          19 Mar19 March 04:04

          Also maybe read Railway Byelaw 11(1).

    • lumma says:

      18 Mar18 March 09:59

      I feel that the signs on the ramps forbidding running have a story linked to someone attempting this…

• IslandDweller says:

  18 Mar18 March 09:08

  @lumma The fare savinf is not because you didn’t go through a ticket barrier. It’s because of the route logic. For that journey, the system has been set to assume that you changed at West Norwood and continued to Whitechapel on the Overground (and hence avoided zone 1). In reality, so few Thameslink trains now stop at West Norwood that very few people will do that. Keep quiet about the saving in case someone in the tfl ticket coding department sees this and updates the logic and makes the default ‘via zone 1’….

  • RussellH says:

    18 Mar18 March 09:50

    Fortunately for you my sister retired a few years ago…
    🙂

  • lumma says:

    18 Mar18 March 10:05

    Yes, indeed. I used to take the actual avoiding zone 1 route until I found this out as it was only one extra train over via zone 1. I think the reason why it exists though is because most people would logically change at Blackfriars and register that they’ve hit zone one there. I think for them to change it they would have to install pink readers at all of the zone 2 stations that you could possibly change at (or install barriers between the underground and national rail at Farringdon)

  • John says:

    18 Mar18 March 10:05

    Well it is because you didn’t go through a ticket barrier – same way as West Brompton to Highbury default route is not zone 1, because there are no barriers and no interchange to tell them which route you took.

    And you mean Norwood Junction not west Norwood,

• Matarredondaaa says:

  18 Mar18 March 10:33

  Surprised Flybe still have the LHT slots as thought these had been lost due to a court action after they had been reformed

• Thywillbedone says:

  18 Mar18 March 10:38

  O/T. Can anyone recommend a discount card for good restaurants in Dubai? I know there are options like The Entertainer but are subscription based over a year so more targeted at locals. I see HSBC Emirates offers discounts but do those work for UK card holders? Thanks.

  • Thywillbedone says:

    18 Mar18 March 11:29

    Edit to add: the Entertainer has a monthly subscription option (somewhat hidden on the site). Wondering if good value or other free options…

    • Rob says:

      18 Mar18 March 11:36

      You can ‘rent’ The Entertainer on eBay – some people buy the online version and then resell the login and password, a week at a time ….

      • Thywillbedone says:

        18 Mar18 March 12:25

        Thanks Rob – amazing what people will do to recoup a subscription! In the meantime, found a local friend happy to share his login for my stay …

  • Blair Waldorf Salad says:

    18 Mar18 March 11:53

    Hilton and IHG are offering their elite members steep dining discounts (to guests and non-guests) till end of the year. Marriott is taking part in a dining discount with Emirates, where you show your boarding pass and get a discount on hotel restaurants across Dubai.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.